Sorted by date Results 1 - 8 of 8
NEW YORK (AP) — A NASA spacecraft aims to fly closer to the sun than any object sent before. The Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun. Since then, it has flown straight through the sun's corona: the outer atmosphere visible during a total solar eclipse. The next milestone: closest approach to the sun. Plans call for Parker on Tuesday to hurtle through the sizzling solar atmosphere and pass within a record-breaking 3.8 million miles (6 million kilometers) of the sun's surface. At that moment, if the sun a...
NEW YORK (AP) — Volcanoes were erupting on the mysterious far side of the moon billions of years ago just like on the side that we can see, new research confirms. Researchers analyzed lunar soil brought back by China's Chang'e-6, the first spacecraft to return with a haul of rocks and dirt from the little-explored far side. Two separate teams found fragments of volcanic rock that were about 2.8 billion years old. One piece was even more ancient, dating back to 4.2 billion years. "To obtain a sample from this area is really important because it'...
NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have discovered the oldest-known fossil of a giant tadpole that wriggled around over 160 million years ago. The new fossil, found in Argentina, surpasses the previous ancient record holder by about 20 million years. Imprinted in a slab of sandstone are parts of the tadpole's skull and backbone, along with impressions of its eyes and nerves. "It's not only the oldest tadpole known, but also the most exquisitely preserved," said study author Mariana Chuliver, a biologist at Buenos Aires' Maimonides University. R...
NEW YORK (AP) — To save power, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its long-running Voyager 2 spacecraft. The space agency said Tuesday that Voyager 2's plasma science instrument — designed to measure the flow of charged atoms — was powered down in late September so the spacecraft can keep exploring for as long as possible, expected into the 2030s. NASA turned off a suite of instruments on Voyager 2 and its twin Voyager 1 after they explored the gas giant planets in the 1980s. Both are currently in interstellar space, or the...
Two NASA astronauts will stay longer at the International Space Station as engineers troubleshoot problems on Boeing's new space capsule that cropped up on the trip there. NASA on Friday did not set a return date until testing on the ground was complete and said the astronauts were safe. "We're not in any rush to come home," said NASA's commercial crew program manager Steve Stich. Veteran NASA test pilots Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule for the orbiting laboratory on June 5. It was the first...
That coffee you slurped this morning? It's 600,000 years old. Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world's most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as "arabica." The researchers, hoping to learn more about the plants to better protect them from pests and climate change, found that the species emerged around 600,000 years ago through natural crossbreeding of two other coffee species. "In other words, prior to any intervention from man,"...
DALLAS (AP) — Whether you saw the moon completely block the sun, were foiled by cloudy weather or weren't along the path of Monday's total solar eclipse, there are still more chances to catch a glimpse. Here's what to know about upcoming solar spectacles: When is the next total solar eclipse? Total solar eclipses happen about every year or two or three, due to a precise alignment of the sun, moon and Earth. They can occur anywhere across the globe, usually in remote areas like the South Pacific. Save the date: The next full solar eclipse, in 20...
DALLAS (AP) — East Coast residents were jolted Friday by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake centered near Lebanon, New Jersey, with weak rumblings felt as far away as Baltimore and the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. No life-threatening injuries or major damage have been reported. Here's what to know about earthquakes on the East Coast. How often do New York City and the East Coast get earthquakes? Earthquakes large enough to be felt by a lot of people are relatively uncommon on the East Coast. Since 1950 there have been about 20 quakes with a m...
